Club’s Operators Evicted : Historic Golden Bear Is Spared Demolition

Orange County’s oldest nightclub, the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, was spared Thursday from demolition, but that victory provided little consolation for the club’s operators, who were evicted at 5 p.m.

The eviction came shortly after a federal bankruptcy judge denied a last-minute bid for an injunction that would have allowed the operators to stay in business.

Concerts Ended

The action put an end to all concert activity at the club, which over the last 25 years has hosted hundreds of rock, folk, jazz and comedy performers, including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Bruce, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, B.B. King, Steve Martin, Men at Work and Huey Lewis & the News.

“Justice was not served,” said Richard Babiracki, who has operated the Golden Bear with his brother Charles since 1974. “If we had had 30 more days, we could have paid off our creditors 100% with the benefit concerts that various artists had indicated they would perform if they had known the Golden Bear was closing.”

Robert Jacobs, attorney in the eviction action for property owners Gwendolyn Tubach and Richard Schwartz, said Thursday: “They lost their lease under the federal bankruptcy code. The city has declared the building seismically unsafe. My clients’ main concern was that in the event of an earthquake in the next 30 days, they would have absolute liability. The building is dangerous, and my clients want to remove it.

“In spite of the potential dangers and liability, we have been very, very slow about this.”

Jacob said the owners had ordered the buildings’ locks to be changed today, but added that the Babirackis were given 15 days in which to remove “everything they want but the four walls.”

As Golden Bear employees wheeled equipment, fixtures and personal possessions into a large rented moving van parked outside, Charles Babiracki said: “The Golden Bear deserves better than this. I’m not going to waste a lot of time on sour grapes, but this is an important thing--don’t let it die here. My forum is gone. They cut my podium out from under me.”

Outside the club on Thursday afternoon, about a dozen people who held $17.50 tickets for the evening’s scheduled concert by guitarist Robin Trower clamored for refunds but also were curious about why the club had closed suddenly.

‘Not Done Fighting’

Holding court in front of the club, Richard Babiracki told them: “Basically we got shafted. I’m not done fighting for this place, but I guarantee that whatever happens, the Golden Bear will be back in another location soon.” Babiracki said he would arrange refunds for those who had purchased tickets for future shows or, at the fans’ discretion, honor those tickets at a future show.

“This is a landmark,” said Tony Sanna, 27, of Santa Ana, “and all of a sudden they just cut it off. It’s not fair.”

Ironically, earlier in the day the mayor pro tem of Huntington Beach said the city would prevent the Golden Bear’s destruction so that the building’s historical significance could be discussed with the owners. One of the two property owners, Richard Schwartz, is also president of Huntington Pacifica Development Co., which is responsible for the city’s downtown redevelopment.

“The question of destroying the Golden Bear is much too delicate to be made quickly and unilaterally by the developer,” Mayor pro Tem Ruth Finley said. “The building has too much history and sentiment.”

City Administrator Charles W. Thompson said: “I have issued a directive not to issue any demolition permits (on the Golden Bear) until further instructions. To my knowledge, none had been issued.” Attorney Jacobs, however, said his clients had expressed the desire to demolish the club today.

In an interview at the club late Thursday, Richard Babiracki said he returned to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana on Thursday hoping to persuade Judge Peter Elliott to grant an injunction. He said he offered the owners $15,000 rent, or 10 times the normal amount, for the month of February. Babiracki also said he planned to take out additional liability insurance of $2 million, on top of the club’s standing $1-million liability policy.

‘How Much Insurance?’

But Jacobs said the Babirackis’ offer of additional rent and insurance did not quell his clients’ concerns. “How much insurance would you need for a building with 200 people in it? On Monday, I would have recommended that those people go up in the (space shuttle) Challenger. Do I recommend to my clients that they go ahead and let people in the building?”

The Babirackis lost their lease on the building during the course of the club’s bankruptcy proceedings initiated last April. Babiracki claimed it was because Robert Kinkle, their attorney in the bankruptcy, had withheld information and misrepresented their intentions in court. Kinkle failed to return phone calls from The Times on Thursday.

On Jan. 24, Judge Elliott issued an order requiring the Babirackis to vacate the club by Wednesday. “That was the first official notice we had gotten that we were supposed to be out,” Richard Babiracki said.

Jacobs, however, said the owners “had informed them (the Babirackis) 18 months ago that they planned to reclaim possession. So this has not been done hastily.”

Babiracki said: “That’s an out-and-out lie. It’s totally ludicrous.”

Jacobs also said the owners had collected no rent for December and January, but Babiracki insisted all rent was up to date.

Earlier this week, Judge Elliott had rejected the Babirackis’ request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the landlords from taking possession of the building. On Thursday he denied their request for an injunction against the eviction order.

Tried For February

“My attorney argued that it would have been in the best interests of our creditors and the (Hoeptner) estate to let us remain open at least in February,” Richard Babiracki said, referring to the estate of Max Hoeptner, the building’s former owner and Gwendolyn Tubach’s father. “With the normal business the Bear does, along with benefit concerts, I estimate we could have brought in $255,000 to pay off all of our debts. Now I’m out of business, out of a job and have no way to pay those debts.”

Babiracki said he would pursue other legal avenues in hopes of regaining tenancy in the building but declined to elaborate.

The building itself, however, will survive pending further discussion of its historical significance, city officials said. The Golden Bear is one of about 50 buildings in Huntington Beach’s downtown area cited as seismically unsafe in 1979. Last May all affected property owners were given until May 10 to “repair or remove” their buildings, said Mike Adams, principal planner for the city’s Redevelopment Agency.

A historical survey of various buildings affected by Huntington Beach’s downtown redevelopment plan has not been completed, said Barbara Milkovich, a local historian conducting the survey for the Heritage Committee of the Huntington Beach Historical Society.

“We had been led to believe that no buildings would be destroyed until the survey was completed,” Milkovich said. “But when I went out last week to survey the old Holly Sugar building, the only thing to survey was the bulldozer that was sitting on top of it.” That building was also owned by Schwartz, Milkovich said.

Mayor pro Tem Finley said the City Council will discuss the historical committee’s requests at its meeting on Monday. “We have made it quite clear that no buildings should be destroyed before the council meeting,” she said.